Jeffrey C. Smith (born December 6, 1949) is a lawyer and a politician currently serving as a Republican member of the Mississippi House of Representatives. He has represented the 39th District since 1992. Smith switched from the Democratic Party to the Republicans on June 1, 2011. Smith told reporters that he decided to become a Republican because the Republicans had recruited a candidate to run against him in the upcoming election for House Speaker.[1]

Following SpeakerWilliam McCoy's decision not to run for re-election in 2011, Smith had been considered a possible frontrunner for the speakership. He lost the 2008 speaker election, in which he was supported by the Republicans; by some Democrats who (like Smith) have since bolted the party; and by Republican governor Haley Barbour by a single vote.[3] The House voted on a new speaker at the start of the 2012 session. A narrow margin of power for either party following the election could force lawmakers to form a coalition in order to elect a new speaker.[4] In the end, however, Philip Gunn was elected speaker without opposition.[5]